Exploring Learning Context Effects and Grapho(-Phonic)-Phonological Priming in Trilinguals

Abstract

A growing body of research on bilingual word recognition suggests that lexical access is language non-selective in nature. This claim aligns with the Dynamic Systems Theory (DST) approach to (multilingual) language acquisition, according to which complex systems involve a large number of elements that interact. In language learners, these interactions lead to the creation and dissolution of patterns as the tasks and environments around them change. In this study, we extend the scope from previous research on word recognition to include the role immersion plays on the transfer of grapho(-phonic)-phonological patterns among (Brazilian Portuguese–French–English) trilinguals. Two groups of participants—one group living in their L1 environment and the other in an L2 setting—were presented with a primed lexical decision task. Besides revealing a high impact of L2 immersion on the processing of grapho(-phonic)-phonological related primes, our results provide further support for the notion of language non-selective access to the lexicon, which seems to generalize to trilingual word recognition. Implications for the DST view of multiple language acquisition are briefly discussed.